Sweat
by kbeto
Summary: "Sweat [swɛt] noun. The secretion from the sweat glands, especially when profuse and visible, as during strenuous activity, from excessive heat, etc." Life uses of mysterious ways to get some things to work out, and sometimes, those ways come disguised as friends. Pudd with bits of Flones, rated T for no particular reason, and inappropriately fluffy. Table #11, entry #3.


_Disclaimer: It's partially inspired in my everyday life, yeah. Still, I don't own anything._

_A/N: This is a very long note._

_Inspiration hit me after a complicated chain of events that happened at gym, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to switch my focus from Flones and make it a Pudd. Also, I tried to go for a more innocent Dougie, I hope it worked. I feel like I switched his and Tom's personalities around!_

_This is third entry for prompt table #11. I plan on going back to the table #1 and finish it, I just don't know when. *sighs*_

_**Guest** Glad you liked it! I understand being overwhelmed by kid!Flones feelings! Haha! Thank you!_

_**Anonymous** Well, you can say it with more property now, since this one is the closest that I can get to offering you a shy!Dougie! BWAhahaha!_

_I'm sad to hear that, but not all little kids are that bad. Some of them are really special and kind, try not to let that rule how you see every single one of them. :) But yeah, keep distance of the spoiled kids, they're just a thorn on the side._

_**Marvin Fletcher** Flones wormed their way into my heart, Pudd used to be my main OTP. Beware, they can do the same to you! ;) Thank you so much for your kind words! It makes me immensely happy to see people having fun reading something I wrote. People like you are the reason I'm still writing and always try to improve, if only a bit! :D_

_I'm sorry that you read this version of 'Lost', I'm not too happy with it and most probably will rewrite it. But I'll try to make it interesting (maybe even get Nan Fletcher to show up), or there's no point in rewriting at all! :P Thank you so much for pointing that out, it's not hard for me to 'eat' words in my sentences (I do that most of the time when I have 'know' in them) and I'm glad whenever someone catch them, don't worry!_

_OMG don't stay up late reading and take better care of your health, ok? Thank you for reading and for taking your time to write me some feedback; just know you are loved for all these little things! :D_

_PS: I haven't given up on my tables, I should get back to sequels and whatnot soon!_

Sweat

"You should just forget him, Dougs," Tom tried to offer his friend a bit of comfort, running a hand through his dirty sandy blond hair buried in many pillows.

"Tom's right, you've been like this for weeks!" Danny added, taking a spot on the other side of the mattress. "Why don't you come to gym with us?"

Dougie's head rose just enough for him to breathe properly and be able to look at his mates' concerned faces. He truly appreciated the couple's effort to get him in a better mood, but he just didn't feel like it, as much as he knew he _needed_ it.

"Guys, you're great and everything, but I'm not ready–"

"And won't ever be, if you decide to just _rot_ in this bloody room!" Danny got up in frustration, giving Tom a silent signal with only his eyes. Deciphering the message, Tom also got up from the mattress and took some cautious steps behind, making sure he wouldn't get caught in whatever was in his boyfriend's mind.

Clawing the mattress, Danny flipped it over –pillows and all– with a single swift heave, making Dougie's body land on the cold floor with a muffled thud. Tom winced at the sound, though he found himself unable to hold his laughter when Dougie sat on the floor rubbing his own forehead.

"Thank you _so_ much, Danny," he darted daggers at his brunet friend. "All I needed was a concussion."

"Stop being a wuss, you're fine!" Danny guffawed, prompting Tom to join him. "We'll be here to take you with us next Monday, don't even think about pretending you're not home; I'll kick ya door open."

"I regret immensely ever playing matchmaker for you two," Dougie rolled his eyes, watching the boyfriends leave his room.

He could see Danny cupping Tom's bum on their way out, and he knew where it probably would lead the two: Tom had a _thing_ for Danny's macho side, which often got them into bed. Good thing he didn't live with the brown-eyed boy any more, because there are some boundaries that you shouldn't cross in your friendships and hearing your best mate's sexual life is one of them.

"Little perverts," he chuckled, watching from his bedroom window the two kiss and leave his house.

~#~

"I don't even know how you win everyone over," Dougie sighed. His eyes were busy studying the fancy looking gym where Tom and Danny dragged him to, whilst his mind still wondered why he didn't just go stay with his sister or mother over the weekend, and avoided all that situation altogether.

"I would know, it's the same whenever he talks me into trying a new posit–"

"Don't go there, mate," Dougie silenced Tom's lips with his index finger. "Don't. Go. There."

"I talked to the manager, you can have a free-trial week and then decide if you want to stay here or not," Danny said, as he jogged in the boys' direction. "You also get some guy to help you with the exercises."

"What the hell are you wriggling your eyebrows for? It's not like I came here to _shag_ some random guy."

"We know, Dougie." Tom started dragging Danny with him over to all kinds dumbbells and barbells were. "Just remember to be nice to him!"

What the hell was that? Tom was telling him to be nice to a random guy, because Dougie was a rude arsehole, or something? Yes, his mood had been a bit shitty since his last break-up, but that didn't mean he's a rude guy. He's just having a rough time, that's all.

"I bet this guy is one of those muscled-heads that can't even keep a conversation going!"

"Whoa, not a good first impression I made, eh?" A male voice chuckled, scaring Dougie from his apparently not-so-inner monologue. He span on his heels to be met by a handsome brunet with sparkly blue eyes, warm smile and a _very_ fit body.

"Erm... I... Uh... That's not–"

"It seems like you can't keep a conversation flowing, either? I guess we're going to get along great." the stranger's chuckle turned into a hearty laugh.

Dougie wanted to say something – do something –, but found himself unable to retort, taken over by embarrassment and just a bit mesmerised by the guy. At least he didn't seem bothered about being called a 'muscled-head', nor threatened to inflict any bodily harm on the blond.

"I'm Harry, by the way," he extended a hand, though it took Dougie a few seconds to process the act and take the strong hand in his own. "You must be Douglas?"

"Dougie. Call me Dougie," he absently minded kept shaking their hands for too long, only realising what he had done when Harry's eyes glanced down at their hands and back at him, making his cheeks burn with even more embarrassment. How long can a person embarrass themselves in front of somebody before _fainting_ from it?

"Well, Dougie, let's get started!"

~#~

"He looks like a schoolgirl around someone she fancies!"

"That's mean, Dan!" Tom slapped Danny's shoulder. "But it _does_ seem that guy affected old Dougie. And he's not hard in the eyes, either."

The couple had been discretely – at least they like to think so – watching their friend from another room, their heads poking put behind a wall, Danny crouched and Tom a little bent above Danny's head.

"Wha'?"

"Not that he's more attractive than a certain curly-haired brunet I know," he giggled, placing a kiss atop the mass of dark curls. "Let's leave them for now."

~#~

The rest of the day didn't progress too smooth for Dougie: he almost fell on the treadmill twice and managed to mess up every single exercise he was told to do. It wasn't like Harry seemed to care – checking if he was okay and even guiding Dougie's movements to ensure he was doing them right – or maybe he was just being professional, having to deal with yet another unfit guy with (very) poor motor coordination.

"Now, you do this very same movement," Harry positioned one knee on the bench, bending himself a little. He steadied himself with his left hand, and holding a dumbbell in his right one, started lowering it and bringing it back up next to his chest. "This is a Bent-over row. Watch me closely, Dougie."

"No need to ask..."

"What?" The brunet stopped and looked over his shoulder, still with his bum up in the air.

"Nothing!" he waved his hands dismissively, although sure that his face must had given away everything, as he felt the hotness spread across his cheeks. _"Oh my God, I wasn't checking him out!"_

~#~

"We'll pick you up tomorrow, too," Danny's head poked out of the window of his car, watching Dougie march to the porch. Tom did the same, leaning over Danny's thighs and into the driver's window.

"I'm not _running away_, arseholes," he threw a bye over his shoulder and entered his house, sliding along the door after he closed it.

Danny and Tom were incredible mates for going the extra mile to ensure he wasn't staying down for too long, but everything seemed to be a bit too much. The Harry guy was gentle, good looking (no denying that), and generally nice– it's just that Dougie himself wasn't really out there looking for a long term relationship, or any relationship for that matter. Not that anything could happen between him and the athletic brunet, as he made sure of embarrassing himself pretty often throughout the morning.

"No use in thinking on an empty stomach!" He got up, leaving his bag on the floor and removing his trainers.

Dougie relished in the feeling of newly acquired freedom his feet had and marched into the kitchen to grab a healthy snack. He soon found himself before a wide selection of food in his fridge, going through cheese, lettuce, and other ingredients, when a familiar face popped inside his mind.

"_A cheese sandwich with tuna is a nice post-training snack, it gives you protein to help your muscles recover,"_ the memory of the friendly guy smiled shyly at him.

Too tired to even question anything at this point, Dougie followed imaginary Harry's advice and dug around the fridge contents till he found some tuna his ex left behind. That cheating fucker certainly _wasn't_ going to need it any more, and hey, _"My fridge, my rules,"_ he thought. Then proceeded to assemble the sandwich between two slices of brown bread.

~#~

A good nap was all that Dougie needed to re-energise his body. The shiny numbers of his clock told him it was almost evening, the perfect time to put his plan into action: go walking around the park to improve his performance and stop making a fool of himself around Harry. But mainly because _"a bit of cardio is always good"_, as Danny would have put it.

All geared up with light, comfortable clothes, he slipped in his trainers, plugged his iPod in, and headed down the street, towards the park. Upon arrival, he noticed many people also walking or running, although their number wasn't high enough to classify the place as crowded.

"Here goes nothing," he finished warming up and started jogging down a trail that went further inside the wood covered part of the park; it seemed to be the choice of a few people.

~#~

"Was that Dougs?" Tom blinked twice, carrying two ice cream cones in his hands.

"I doubt that." Danny chuckled, thanking his boyfriend with a kiss on the cheek, taking one ice cream from his grasp.

"I swear it was him... I just don't know why he would go jogging, when we had to drag him this morning."

"Maybe he has a secret lover?" The curly-haired boy shrugged and turned his full attention to his snack.

~#~

Regretting his sudden need for exercise and nominating himself for the award of 'Worst Idea Ever', Dougie slowed down his stride to the point that even a few elderly people outpaced him easily. Good thing it's a circular path, or else he was going to do the same course _twice_.

"Why am I even doing this? Stupid Harry!"

"What about _me_?" a hand plucked one of Dougie's earbuds out.

Startled by the sudden movement (and someone behind him), Dougie span around too fast, losing his balance as he stepped on a branch and fell on top of the stranger. He was certain that his knees got a bit scrapped, but he had more immediate concerns, like his face being _buried_ in-between some guy's legs.

"Oh my God, I'm so _crotch!_" He jumped up, backing away with his face and ears already burning. "No, that's not it– I'm so _sorry!_"

"Mate, breathe!" Harry laughed, dusting himself up, and apparently finding everything amusing. "It's me, Harry."

"I can see that! And for some reason it makes everything worse!"

"Aren't you cute when you're all flustered?" Harry chuckled, stepping forward to put a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Respect your own stamina, don't push yourself too far, and I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Wait!" Dougie called after Harry, sounding more desperate than he would have wanted. "Aren't your– You're not hurt are you?"

"Are you... offering to tender to my...?" The personal trainer raised an eyebrow.

Dougie immediately began panicking, imagining how he could to clear the misunderstanding, but Harry just laughed. "I'm wearing a box, don't worry," he knocked on his crotch to emphasise his point, a muffled sound of hard plastic coming from it. "Safety first."

"Oh." Dougie breathed. Why the universe seemed to conspire and make him seem dumber every time he crossed paths with Harry, was a complete mystery to him.

"Better be going. See you tomorrow, Dougs!" Harry waved and jogged his way out the woods.

"Did he call me 'Dougs'?"

~#~

"I can't believe you ate expired tuna! I taught you to always check dates before eating anything!"

"And your concern is very appreciated, Tommy, but all this lecture isn't going to get me better," Dougie rolled on his side, stomach protesting at the movement.

The tuna Alejandro left behind caused him food poisoning, and now he was faded to spend the rest of the week in bed, resting. In the first moment Danny wanted to drag him regardless, but soon had a change of heart after Dougie puked on his shirt, leaving Tom to do all the nurse job.

"Dan called, he said Harry was asking after you, by the way."

"He was?" an involuntary smile showed up on his face. "What did Dan say?"

"That you were bad, 'barfing and shitting _everywhere'_," Tom shrugged.

"I'm _so_ going to strangle Danny when I get better."

~#~

The week flew by –not from Dougie's perspective, but it did– and Sunday came, the day Danny would take part on a charity race to gather funds for some institution helping children with cancer. As expected, Tom and Dougie were there to take pictures and cheer for their friend, cameras in hand and sunglasses on.

"How long will the whole thing take?" Dougie elbowed Tom's side.

"It's a race, Dougie. It takes as long as necessary for everyone to cross the finishing line," a roll of brown eyes indicated the silly nature of Dougie's question. "We can go after Dan wins, though."

"That if he can last the first five minutes," he laughed. Tom, in the other hand, wasn't laughing and started viciously clubbing his friend with his 'Go, Danny!' flag.

"I see that you are lively as always, that's a good thing."

"Harry!" Both blonds exclaimed, seeing the boy accompanied by Danny. They were wearing shirts with numbers and shorts that were a bit, well, too short, looking all fired up for competition.

"Hello, Tom. Hello, Dougs," he greeted them. "I was telling Danny that we should celebrate my victory later, what you two say?"

"He meant my victory, just so ya know," Danny corrected Harry, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

They discussed and agreed on going to a small bar later at night. A voice announced the beginning of the race, reason why Danny and Harry had to leave their 'fans' and go to their positions. All the while, Tom was keeping a close watch on Dougie, surveying how he seemed to turn into his introspective self whenever the muscular boy addressed him in conversation.

"_He seems a bit smitten with Harry, that's for sure,"_ the brown-eyed boy shook his head.

"What, Tommy?"

"Nothing, just remember to take the pictures, mate."

~#~

"That was an unexpected turn of events," Dougie passed Harry a water bottle, which he promptly drained in one go.

Danny and Harry got in the lead, the former in second place, when Danny twisted his ankle and fell. Harry could have won easily, as they were really close to finishing it, but decided to go back and help Danny, the two of them crossing the line together in third place. For their exceptional display of fair game, it was settled that the two were awarded with bronze medals, everything happening under the ovation of a crazy crowd.

"I guess we didn't really win, eh?" Harry scratched his head, poking his tongue out. "No regrets, though."

"You did great," Dougie assured him, looking away when he felt blue eyes on him. He hated it whenever those awkward silences fell upon him; they made it itchy to be in his own skin.

"Dougie! Why the hell there are only pictures of Harry?" Danny barged in their chat – or lack thereof – holding an accusing camera in Dougie's direction.

"I asked him to! Thank you, Dougie," Harry cut in, obviously he sensing how uncomfortable Dougie was, or maybe he could just tell by the boy's crimson ears. Danny gave them a strange look but inquired no further, going back to Tom.

"Should I assume that you fancy me, then?" Harry stepped forward, his frown back on his face.

"I'm sorry, it's not like I wan– "

"Because I'd like to take you out on a date."

"Oh. You– you what?" Dougie blinked. Certainly he started hearing things, maybe his blood pressure level dropped or the similar? It could be the medication, but he didn't take any.

"We'll take things slow, get to know each other and all that stuff." Harry's hands were now on the nape of his neck. "And now, to seal the promise–"

Lips. Lips were pressed against Dougie's and he wouldn't be able to deny the tingling sensation in his stomach, no matter how much he wanted to. It was a chaste kiss – a peck – but it was enough to weight the balance in favour of giving Harry a chance; there was no point in denying it any more.

"If want us to do this again, I promise the next won't involve so much sweat," the brunet walked away, telling Tom and Danny he would see them later.

"Seems like the plan worked?" Tom smirked, feeling Danny's arms tangle around his waist. "We had a bit of delay, but it worked."

"Now he can't play 'I was matchmaker for you two' card on us," Danny laughed, kissing Tom's neck. "I smell a double date!"

"I hate you two so much."

~Fin~


End file.
